One Economy and its partners will support Gov. Benigno Fitial in his goal to expand broadband availability to all people of the CNMI, while also leveraging their expertise in broadband adoption and job creation.
“We are committed to increasing the availability of quality broadband service for all individuals, families, and communities in the CNMI,” said Fitial. “We have partnered with a group of experts in their fields, enabling the CNMI to maximize the amount of broadband stimulus funding awarded, so that we can achieve our goals. One Economy and its partners have extensive experience working with other states to increase broadband availability and adoption — providing a complete solution that will result in great economic benefits to the CNMI.”
One Economy has vast experience in the broadband planning space and has assisted lower income communities in gaining access to broadband at an affordable cost through their Digital Connectors program (http://www.one-economy.com/ourwork/youthinitiatives). They will bring this program to the CNMI, where they plan to train and hire upwards of 200 local people to support this effort. One Economy and its partners are also working to provide broadband mapping and planning solutions to American Samoa, Hawaii, Mississippi, Oregon, Guam, and South Dakota.
“We fully support Governor Fitial’s proactive broadband plan and the communities of the CNMI to help them realize the educational, health and overall economic benefits when you connect to your world faster” said Rey Ramsey, CEO of One Economy. “We are committed to leveraging our past experiences and expertise to ensure that the CNMI receives the optimal benefits from the NTIA grants.”
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act has allotted $7.2 billion for the development and expansion of broadband nationwide, $350 million of which has been set aside for the Broadband Data Improvement Act allowing states and territories to develop granular and transparent broadband serviceability maps enabling consumers to understand the options that are available and not available to them at the address level. To maximize the benefits of these broadband maps and advance adoption rates in the unserved and underserved communities, a portion of the funds can also be attributed to broadband planning, including programs to understand the barriers to adoption, drive technology awareness, and educate communities through digital literacy programs.
“Our maps will give leaders of the CNMI the tools they need to better understand eligible areas for broadband stimulus funds and consumers a better understanding of the service options available to them,” said Daniel Perrone, CEO of BroadMap.
“We have been in the mapping and serviceability industry since the early days of broadband, our solution enables us to compile multiple layers of real-time data of location and serviceability. With our collective partner experience, we will help the people of the CNMI drive consumer awareness, increase education, and help local communities realize the benefits of the stimulus funding.”
“We are not only impressed by One Economy’s ability to provide the required data, but also by the extra steps taken to verify the accuracy of the data,” said said Fitial. “They will conduct surveys gathering real-time information online through New America’s Measurement-Lab collaboration with Google and through their Digital Connectors program, which will also provide new jobs and digital literacy training to our local communities.”
